The Research Core is designed to enhance the scholarly careers of substance use and HIV/AIDS investigators and provide the long-term infrastructure support that facilitate and guide interdisciplinary research initiatives at Florida International University (FIU) directed towards eliminating health disparities. Towards this end, the Core provides pilot project funding to senior and junior faculty at FIU.


Some of the projects conducted by the Center include:

The inter-generational transmission of drug use between Latina mothers and daughters (Ongoing)

PI: Mario De La Rosa, Ph.D., Professor, Social Work, College of Social Work, Justice and Public Affairs
Project Director: Patria Rojas, M.S.W., M.P.H , Director Women’s Study, Center for Research on U.S. Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse.

The primary objective of this four year study is to identify the risk and protective factors that influence the intergenerational transmission of drug-using behaviors between Latina mothers and daughters. As part of this study, four types of mother/ daughter pairs (160 pairs/ 320 individuals) were recruited in Miami Dade County: (1) drug-using mothers and daughters; (2) drug-using mothers and non-using daughters; (3) non-using mothers and drug-using daughters; and (4) non-using mothers and daughters. The interviews with these pairs explores, among others, the primacy of the family and its role as a social support system; family structure, socioeconomic status; religiosity; and the effects of acculturation levels on their drug use and sexual risk behaviors.


Drug use and Violence Nexus in Miami Florida (Completed)

PI: Ramiro Martinez Jr. , Ph.D., Criminal Justice, College of Social Work, Justice and Public Affairs, FIU

The primary objective of this three year pilot study was to examine the nature and extent of the relationship between drug use and violence in a population of (non-Mexican origin) Latinos—mostly of Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Honduran and Nicaraguan origin—in the city of Miami, Florida. This objective addressed a neglected area of research in the study of race/ethnicity and drug-related violence. A second goal of this study was to identify the impact of drug activity, or drug-related deaths, at the individual and community level of analysis. The study aimed at advancing the state of knowledge on the drug/violence link by investigating whether differences and similarities exist at the level of analysis, that is, between individuals or in communities, on different types of violent crime.


Impact of 2005 Hurricane Season on HIV/ AIDS Health Services in Miami Dade County (Ongoing)

PI: Sukumar Ganapati, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Public Administration, College of Social Work, Justice and Public Affairs, FIU

The long term goal of this study is to reduce the vulnerability of persons living with HIV and AIDS, most of whom are minorities, in the aftermath of disasters. The goal of this particular study is to study the impact of hurricanes which hit Miami Dade County in 2005, namely Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, on HIV/AIDS service providers by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis. In order to achieve its goal, the study has five specific aims: (1) map HIV/AIDS service providers and establish their “catchment areas” in Miami Dade County; (2) conduct an analysis on the demographic characteristics of these “catchment areas;” (3) create baseline GIS database for major risk factors associated with HIV/AIDS in Miami-Dade County; (4) analyze the impact of last year’s hurricanes on HIV/AIDS service providers in the county, and (5) simulate how service providers would be affected in the case of a future hurricane event based on the impact of past hurricanes.


HIV and Substance Abuse Risk Behaviors among Hispanic Youth of Florida (Completed)

PI: WayWay M. Hlaing, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Robert Stempel School of Public Health, FIU

The goal of this study was to determine if the HIV/ substance abuse risk behaviors are different among Hispanic and non-Hispanic youth of Florida. The study utilized the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) 2003, a component of CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. It used independent three-stage cluster samples for the 1991-1993 surveys to obtain cross-sectional data representative of public- and private-school students in grades 9-12 in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.


Effectiveness and Predictors of Hepatitis C Virus Screening and Post-Test Counseling in HCV-Positive Clients Taking Action to Prevent HCV Transmission and Liver Disease Progression: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis (Completed)

PI: Mary Jo Trepka, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Robert Stempel School of Public Health, FIU

This pilot study was a retrospective cohort study of the HCV-positive clients identified and counseled as part of the Miami Dade County Health Department Hepatitis and Liver Failure Prevention Program. The goals of this project was to determine if the hepatitis C testing and counseling program causes clients to take steps to prevent liver disease and to describe the benefits and harms that the clients experienced due to their hepatitis C testing.